Supergirl: Tyler Hoechlin on suiting up as Superman

Tyler Hoechlin may have landed the role of Superman faster than a speeding bullet (more on that soon!), but the real trouble came when the Teen Wolf star had to suit up for the first time in the iconic red and blue spandex for his upcoming turn as the Man of Steel on Supergirl.

“The first couple of times it definitely took longer to get into,” Hoechlin tells EW of trying on the super suit. “I started to think that Superman’s greatest power was actually being able to just jump into [the suit] as quickly as he does, because it’s not quite as smooth the first couple of times you do it.”

Though the actor is only slated to appear in the first two episodes of the season as Kara’s (Melissa Benoist) cousin Clark Kent, Hoechlin now has suiting up down to a science. “It’s kind of like putting on a wetsuit,” he says. “I’ve introduced an old surfing trick, so if put a plastic bag over my feet and hands when I put it on, that seems to cut down a little bit of time, so that’s been helpful in the process.”

Actually wearing the Man of Steel’s costume, however, is a different beast altogether, with Hoechlin calling the experience very surreal. “It’s one of those things where you put it on, and it’s the nicest Halloween costume you’ve ever worn,” he says. “Then, once you step on set, it becomes something different because people actually start addressing you as Superman. You’re in the scenes, and people are playing along that you are Superman, so that’s when it really hits you for a second. You have to then believe that you are this person, and just really own it and roll with it. That was really the moment that it hit closest to home.”

Stay tuned for more scoop from Hoechlin on joining Supergirl, which returns Monday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

RELATED: How long will Superman stick around on Supergirl? See what the cast says!

For more from Hoechlin’s interview, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on newsstands Friday.